Method of producing splice bars



a w. BAcKas 2.237.286

Inl-10D OF PRODUCING SYLICB BARS 2 Sheets-Shen l Filld Aug. 23. 1939 MoJ/7302@ A hwy/mja April 8. 1941. a w. BAcKEs 2,237,286

IETHOD 0F PRODUCING SPLICE BARS Filod Aug. 23, 1939 2 Shoots-Sheet 2 Paiesied Apr. s, 1941 'i 2,237,285.

UNITED STATESl PATENT OFFICE IVIETHOD OF PRODUCING SPLICE BARS Edward W. Backes, Evanston, Ill., assignor to Poor & Company, New York, N. Y., a. corporation ot Delaware Application August 23, 1939, Serial No. 291,611 l Claim.' (Cl. 251-169) This invention relates to' rail joint bars usecl In said drawings: Y in connecting the ends of railroad track rails Figure 1 is a perspective view of a. rail joint and the like, and more particularly to an imbar as initially formed or produced. proved method of producing the same. Figure 2 is a like view of the same bar having a A primary object of the invention is to. proslight deformation purposely given thereto.

vvide a joint bar so constructed as to eliminate Figure 3 is a similar view of the bar after treatsurface defects in the' shing surface thereof, ment upon the deformed portion thereof. particularly at the middle of the bar usually due Figure 4 is a cross-sectional representation of l to the presence of the decarburized surface nlm a rail with the joint bar applied thereto at a which is present in the conventional rail joint 10 juncture pointyand bar, and which inevitably results from the com- Figure is a View taken on the line 5-5 of mon procedure observed in the manufacture of Fig. 4, showing the joint plate in inner side ele such bars. It has been found, in some instances, vation with parts of the rail appearing in verthat this decarburized surface or skin on the tical section.

fishing surface of a rail joint bar encourages l5 In the illustrative embodiment, a typical form formationI of incipient cracks at the middle of A of rail joint bar is designated generally as 6, hav..

thejoint where therail ends bear on the top of ing a conventional head portion 5, web portion j the bar, and it is therefore the general purpose 6b and foot portion BC. The surface l of said head' of the present lnvention'to provide a joint bar portion constitutes the top fishing surface or which is sound in' the critical pressure area or 20 angle tting against the bearing surface at the areas and possesses therein the physical properundersidepf the rail head. and the surface 8 of V ties necessary to a satisfactory and durable rail said foot portion constitutes the bottom fishing joint. I surface or angle tting against the upperside of It is well known that even though the loading the rail flange (see Fig. 4) Holes 9 through the v `conditions of a rail joint are such as to put the web provide for bolt fastening to the rails on ophighest bending stresses in the bottom of the joint posite sides of the joint therebetween.

bars, nevertheless, when failure occurs it usually As initially rolled, said bar has the regular 'is at the top center of 'the bar. Thus, a surface configuration and straight edging of normal prodefect or condition, rather than an internal weakduction as illustrated in Fig. 1; that is, it is proness of the bar is indicated to be the cause, and' 30. duced in the usual way, in desired form or shapthis surface-defect or condition has been traceable ing, just as heretofore and just as it has heretoto the decarburized film or skin at the surface of fore been used. The outer decarburized integuthe bar. Denning-this decarburized surface lm ment or skin" surface, present over its entire or skin it is well understood that during the heat area, which is present in the production of all rolling and cooling of a rail joint bar much of the 35,; such plates as before stated, is shown somewhat L carbon which gives the steel its inherent strength exaggeratively by the dotted line I0 underlying escapes, with the result of leaving a relatively soft the full surface or coniigurational lines, said surand weaker surface integument on the bars, and face or skin comprising roughly that portion of that is the so-called decarburized lm or skin the metal which exists between said dotted line referred to. The depth of this decarburized film 40 andthe full outer-surface line, and is ordinarily or skin runs quite-uniform at the various mills, actually only a few hundredths of an inch in .d amounting in most cases to something between depth.

0.010 and 0.015 of an' inch. In forming the joint bar, of this invention, Therefore, the present invention is based upon the said initially formed conventional bar. while the fact that presentation or sound mother-metal still hot from the formative rolling` operation, is vf below the rail ends in the center area, oi' a bar slightly deformed by a suitable die, or otherwise, f will strengthen the bar medially and greatly rethereby to press the top fishing surface 1 upduce the tendency to the formation of incipient wardly into a raised portion Il sufficient to bring -i cracks and will provide a joint bar more durable the line I0, or the decarburized skin layer there- .j than ordinarily. in, above the norman piane or said surface at the The invention will be understood best from center or central area of the bar, as exemplified 'f'iurther description with reference to an illusin Fig. 2. In other words. that part at least of 4 trative embodiment, such as shown in the atsaid shing surface which will lie directly under tached drawings forming a part of this specicathe rail ends is raised by a deformation. from tlon. h l 5 below. of t-he head portion Gl itself, transmitted of said surface.

through the wall thickness thereof. This raising is to a height, exaggerated in the illustration, which causes the decarburized skin portion of .the metal to be `brought above the normal level of the fishing surface, so that only sound mother" metal lies thereunder within the regular plane Of course, a larger area or the entire extent of said fishing surface may be raised a this manner if desired,. but it is not necessary and would afford no particular advantage besides being uneconomical from a manufacturing standpoint. The said deformation or raising may be done advantageously by or in conjunction with the regular hot straightening dies.

After the described deformation, the still hot bar is quenched and cooled in the regular way. The raised portion is then removed or reduced .by grinding or the like down to the regular level of the fishing surface, so as to expose a medial area I2 of the sound mother metal substantially ush or in plane with the remaining portions of said surface, as shownin Fig. 3. Thus, that portion 'or area of the bar, or the top fishing surface thereof; which ls subjected to the greatest bending stresses below the rail ends and heretofore constituted the weakest point of the same, is

provided with an exposed surface of the sound inner metal-that will .greatly resist breaking and cracking tendencies and add greatly to the enduring qualities of the bar. In other words, 'the physical properties of the bar willbe as great in this crucial area as in the remaining internalstructure of the bar. The same bar as heretofore is accordingly made much stronger and re- `.s stant to break-down eects.

.In,V addition to providing a strong break-resistantsurface under the rail joint, the invention also provides a more regular and accurate bearing face or fishing angle to fit the underside of A the rail head, that is, a smoother and more unin form bearing surface at the point of maximum loading located'in the top center' of the bar.

Joint bars as ordinarily produced vary slightly in their shing surfaces from a true plane. A universal requirement is that any deviation from a true plane shall be such as to leave the top center of thenbar slightly higher than the ends and a bar whose center is low will not be accepted. The invention automatically and expediently brings this about by specifically raising its level and Kthereaftergrinding it down to a high-pointplane, at the same time rendering it perfectly flat and smooth as compared with 'the remaining portions of the "surface,

The described bar is applied lto the rail joint in exactly the same way. as formerly, Le. as by` bolts I3, as illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5. Referring to Fig. 5, its inner side faced to the web of therail or railends I4 is shown in elevation, with the exposed sound mother metal surface I2 above the level of the decarburized skin line IU engaging under the rail head or bearing surface thereof at the juncture point.

The advantages derived from the invention are manifold and will doubtless be readily zippreciated. In adidtion to the longer life and ncreased resistance to wear, as well as the smoother more accurate surfacing already mentioned. it provides a bearing surface of maximum strength at the point where rail ends, especially when swelled. cause load concentration and high bearing pressures or stresses; it eliminates the necessity of cold straightening for the manufacturer w'ho must straighten or re-run all low surface bars, since a bar which would normally be low would in practice of the invention be simply ground down to a lesser extent leaving the top surface high in the center; it affords a better or fuller-contact and tighter top surface fitting to the rail; it adds a minimum, almost negligible, of cost to the ordinary production; it permits a lower quantity production for replacement purposes, due to the reduction in service failures; and it eliminates other more expensive methods of correcting for the loss of carbon at the center of the bar--recarburizing, control of heating furnaces and quenching and drawing being all more costly and expensive in comparison.

Without further description it is thoughtL that the features and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and it will of course be understood that changes in the form, proportion and minor details of construction may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit of the invention and scope of the [A appended claim.

I claim:

The method of producing, from a splice bar having a. fishing surface disposed in a common plane extending from end to end of the bar at the outer side of a thin decarburized surfaceg` layer of the bar, an improved splice bar having sound mother metal exposed at the central portion of said fishing surface substantially in the plane thereof, which consists in subjecting the central portion of the bar to pressure to shift they? central portion of said fishing surface outwardly;l sufliciently to brin'g the underlying sound mother? metal of said central portion into a. plane coin-r cident with the plane of said surface to eithe side of said central portion, and then cutting away said outwardly shifted central portion un-jtil the sound mother metal thereof is exposed and the exposed sound mother metal surface i disposed substantially in the plane of the shin surface to either side thereof, all prior to initia application of the bar to rails in a rail joint.

EDWARD W. BACKES. 

